Hello From The Other Side
by Ashley Tara
Summary: Years after defeating The Goblin King, Sarah learns that he is dying, and The Labyrinth with him. With the lives of her friends in the balance, will she be able to put the past behind her to save Jareth, or is it too late for the both of them? Inspired by the lyrics of Adele's "Hello." 5-Part Story. T for mild themes of depression. (R.I.P. David Bowie. Long Live The Goblin King.)
1. Part One

Two years. The phone calls, the deep conversations, the "forever and always". It was all over in five minutes. Sarah slammed the door to her apartment, threw her keys against the wall, and collapsed on her bed face first. Clutching the sheets in her fists, she started to sob.

"It's not fair!" She shrieked, seething into her pillow.

She couldn't believe her boyfriend had broken up with her over something so stupid. A "professional" career in business or something didn't interest her. She wanted to write books. Fantasy books to be exact. He didn't think that was serious enough to support. A screaming match later, she was left with nothing but shattered dreams and a scruffy childhood friend lying beside her in the dimness.

Tears streaming down her hot face, she picked up the bear and placed him in her lap.

"Oh Lancelot..." she sighed, looking down on her beloved toy, "How did we get here?"

The little bear's black eyes seemed to stare back at her in understanding, but of course he had no answer. He wasn't real. That's what she reminded herself as she set him back down beside her, wiping her eyes with her sleeve.

Someone real. That's exactly what she needed.

 _Need._

Sliding off the bed and sitting down at her vanity, she gazed into the mirror, trying to ignore her disheveled appearance as she uttered the fateful words.

"Hoggle, I need you." She called into the void.

It felt like she waited an eternity before the rugged, kind face of her dwarf friend appeared in the mirror, the reflection showing him as standing behind her.

"You do?" He asked, as he did every time since the first day he visited her Aboveground.

"I do." She confirmed, trying not to sound as desperate as she was.

"What's wrong, Sarah?"

She turned to see him materialized next to her bed.

"You don't go calling me for no reason. It ain't like you. And I haven't heard from you in months." He continued, setting himself down on the unkempt quilt.

"I know, and I'm sorry. I've just been...busy." She acknowledged her neglect, yet another thing to feel bad about. A full-time job she hated, a relationship with a boyfriend who now hated her, and the rift of hatred between her and her family, Toby excluded, hadn't left much time for hailing friends from magical worlds beyond.

"Oh Hoggle, I don't know what's real anymore." She cried out, sitting beside him.

"What are you talkin' about? That's nonsense." He replied, shaking his head.

"That's a laugh coming from you." She mumbled. "I mean I don't know what to do. Nothing is working out like I wanted. I just want to give up."

"Now what kind of talk is that? You don't sound like the Sarah I know!" He exclaimed. "Not the one who made it out alive from The Bog of Eternal Stench, the one who conquered the armies of The Goblin City, and defeated The Goblin King himself."

"Jareth..." Sarah whispered, temporarily forgetting about her problems upon the mention of the conniving ruler. She couldn't remember the last time she thought about him. It had been six years since her adventure in the Labyrinth after all. "What is the king of goblins doing nowadays? Still kidnapping innocent children and tormenting their siblings with horrid traps for his pleasure, I assume." She questioned with no small amount of contempt.

Hoggle's expression changed as he turned away from her gaze.

"Hoggle? What's wrong?"

"All these years, and you never asked about him. Why do you want to know about that nasty trickster anyway?" He evaded her question while fiddling with his hands, obviously hiding something.

"Tell me what's happened, Hoggle." She demanded, not breaking her stare on him.

"You're not going to like it...but alright." He sighed, shaking his head once more before looking up at her, "He's dying, Sarah. Has been for years. Ever since you defeated him, he quit stealing babies. The goblins abandoned him. He lives in the castle alone. No one's seen him in years. Only reason I know he's still livin', is cause the Labyrinth is livin'. When he dies, well...we all do."

"What?!" Sarah shouted, her mouth dropping open. She only thought she saved her baby brother, not destroyed the Underground.

"Time don't go as fast in the Underground like it does here, that's why he's lasted this long. But I don't think it'll be much longer...he doesn't have much magic left." He uttered with finality.

"But why? Why is he dying? That doesn't make sense!" She outburst, jumping up and facing him.

"Because you defeated him, Sarah. No one's ever done that in a thousand years. You were the first. And the last, I'm afraid." He explained, sounding meek and almost scared.

Sarah's features fell, guilt setting in as the situation became clear. "It's all my fault...everything, the Underground disappearing...it's all my fault."

"If it weren't true, I wouldn't have told you. I'm sorry." Hoggle replied, shame in his voice.

Sarah was too shocked to answer, sitting back down.

"Wait..." She began, her eyes widening, "Hoggle, what's going to happen to you? And Sir. Didymus and Ludo? If the Underground disappears..." She was too frightened to finish, Hoggle's sorrowful eyes saying it all. "No! I can't lose you guys! I just can't!"

"Ain't nothing you can do, Sarah." He stated, confirming the awful truth.

"There has to be! If I messed everything up, I can fix it!" She said in denial.

"The only way to save the Underground is to save Jareth. But I'm just a dwarf. Only a Fae knows how to save a Fae."

She put her hands on her hips, biting her lip as her eyes darted around in thought. "Then I'm just going to have to ask him."

"What? Are you crazy?" Hoggle shouted, jumping down.

"It's the only way, Hoggle. I can't let everyone else die because of me." She reminded, adamant on her decision.

"Sarah! You ain't listening, there's something you don't know!" He raised his voice louder than hers, catching her attention. "You can't go back to the Labyrinth."

"What? Why not?"

"Because Jareth won't let you." He told, forcing himself to meet her confused gaze, "He's the only one who can let you back into the Underground, but there's no way he'd do that. And there's something else..."

"Hoggle?" Sarah asked, a fear worse than before gripping her after hearing the sorrow in his voice.

"The magic is almost gone. Once I leave, I won't be able to come back. Ever. I'm surprised there was enough for **this** time." He said, hanging his head.

"No." She uttered and turned away, tears coming back to her eyes, "No, no no."

"I'm sorry, Sarah. I'm not much good with words...but I, just want you do know...that you were the greatest friend I've ever had. The best." He stammered, wiping at his eyes.

"Hoggle please don't go!" She begged, spinning on her heel to face him, but he was already gone. Sarah ran to the mirror, his image still there. "No please, don't go! I need you!" She cried, pressing her hand to the cold glass. She blinked, and he was gone.

"Goodbye, Sarah." His voice lingered in a whisper. Then the silence returned. She was alone again.

"No, please no." Sarah choked out through her tears, resting her head on the vanity with her hand still on the mirror. Her step-mother's abuse, losing her relationship with her father, not seeing Toby for months at a time. None of that had hurt as much as this; losing the only true friends she'd ever had.

"Don't leave me." She pleaded, her heart breaking. "It's not fair."

" _You say that so often. I wonder what your basis for comparison is."_ Jareth's words from so long ago echoed in her memory.

"Jareth." She said in realization, lifting her head, "Jareth, it's Sarah."

She had said it louder, gazing into the mirror, but got more silence in return. Gathering her courage, she now would say something she'd never said before. Something she'd never _wanted_ to say before.

"Jareth, I'm sorry. I did what I had to do. I had to get my baby brother back. I know you were just doing what I asked, but...I'm sorry that I messed everything up for you. Just let me back into the Labyrinth and I'll fix everything, okay?"

Sarah searched for the signs that he had heard. She glanced to the window, but only the shine of the streetlights below seeped through the half-closed curtains. She flipped the switch on her vanity lamp, but the bulb clicked on. There was no wind. No owl at the window, trying to break in. No goblins scurrying around her feet. Just the stillness of night. Nothing was happening as it did the last time she called upon him to come. The night he took Toby away.

" _Away._ _That's what I'm forgetting!"_ She thought,standing with determination.

"Goblin King, Goblin King, wherever you may be, take me far away!" She cried aloud. "I wish the goblins would come and take **me** away! Right now!"

Nearly a minute she waited in the darkness, and said time passed with no change. Although she was stubborn to give up, the obvious truth remained.

He wasn't listening. Even if he was, he didn't want to see her. The Goblin King was dying, and he didn't want to be saved. She'd truly defeated him. Now everyone she loved was disappearing because of it. It was all her fault.

Collapsing on the floor where she stood, she sobbed in despair.

"I'm so sorry." She whispered, tears falling from her face as she closed her eyes.

Unwilling to completely give up, she forced herself to consider other possibilities. Maybe he wanted to come to her, but was he too weak to answer her call? Could he even hear her? What if he couldn't? The fear of the unknown and all its questions became her only focus. The only thing she knew was that he was running out of time...and so was she.

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 ***A/N: I watched Labyrinth for the first time on the day David Bowie died. I fell in love with both the movie and Jareth The Goblin King. When I heard the lyrics to Adele's "Hello", I had to write an angsty post-Labyrinth story about grown up Sarah and defeated Jareth. The song works for them so well. This won't be a long multiple chapter fic, but there will be five parts in total. I had too many ideas just to do a oneshot. This is my first Labyrinth fan fic, but I think(?) I'm doing good at writing the characters so far, for a new arrival in the fandom.**

 **Also, because I can't post the song's lyrics in the fic due to policy, I highly recommend listening to the song during/after reading, even more when the story's complete. It makes it so much better, especially considering the lyrics inspired me to write this whole thing. :)**

 **Everything belongs to Jim Henson, I own only my fan fic. Part Two (Jareth's POV) coming soon. Thank you so much for reading!***


	2. Part Two

***A/N: Thank you all so much for the reads, reviews, and follows. I present to you...the much anticipated POV of Jareth. Also, for those readers concerned that Sarah has not matured i.e. is still whiny, do not worry. I wrote her that way _on purpose_ in Part One to show her need to mature (she is still barely an adult), that way when she does in the three parts following this, the character development will be much more satisfying. The same goes for Jareth, who you will see is still a little resentful when we find him in this part, but he too will find a change of heart before end. Now, I invite you to grab a tissue and enjoy Part Two.***

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Jareth reclined on his throne, still and silent as the grave. His breathing was shallow and hardly visible. Dust settled on his once vibrant and majestic clothes, now tattered and worn. His hair had grown twice as long as he'd ever let it before, tousled and much of it in his face. His body had withered away, leaving him nearly skin and bones. Eating and drinking were luxuries he'd abandoned long ago. Such things were never necessary to his survival, as long as he retained his powers. Yet as those faded, so did he. Uncounted years of isolation had left him all but unrecognizable.

" _Jareth..."_ A voice called from beyond, reaching his deafened ear _s._

Struggling for every inch of height, he groggily lifted his head up from his chest. His eyes fluttered open, trying to focus.

" _Jareth..."_ It said again, sounding clearer. He knew the familiar voice instantly.

Drawing a shaky breath, he tried to speak, but the words were inaudible through his chapped lips. His blurry gaze drifted to his hand, wrapped tightly around his scepter lying across his legs. Moving his stiffened bones felt like cracking egg shells, painful and exhausting.

" _Oh long have I been here?_ " He wondered, no longer able to recall when he'd sat down. Weeks? Months? It was all the same.

Carefully and slowly he reached for a crystal tucked away in his vest. With it in his frail grasp, he attempted to summon enough magic to make it respond to his will.

"Show...me...her..." He strained to verbalize his wishes, unable to use it by telepathy.

" _Goblin King, Goblin King, wherever you may be, take_ ** _me_** _far away!"_ Sarah's voice filled his head.

The ball fell to the floor as Jareth clutched his chest. "Sarah..." He gasped out, finding the strength to sit upright.

" _I wish the goblins would come and take me away! Right now!"_ Her plea echoed louder.

Jareth went flying forward out of his throne onto the floor, twitching uncontrollably and barely able to hold himself up on his hands and knees. After being devoid of power like this for so long, the effects of its return were overwhelming. As if one were trying to pour the contents of a barrel into a thimble.

" _Take **me** far away!"_ Her words repeated over and over.

Gasping for air and trying the stand, the Goblin King could almost smile.

"She remembered..." He managed a chuckle, "She remembered me..."

Afters spending several moments regaining some form of stability, Jareth stood up on his own two feet for the first time in longer than he could remember. His limbs were still slow to respond to his commands and his form mostly remained decrepit. How much power he had, he wanted to know. Picking up the crystal lost in his partial restoration, he twirled it in his once again nimble fingers.

" _I missed this."_ He thought, smirking as he followed the crystal with his eyes.

Almost dropping it after a minute of acrobatics, he realized just how out of practice he was, and how glad he was that no one saw his blunder. He'd never dropped a crystal in a hundred years. However, reminding himself that there was no one left to impress, he focused on his task. Jareth glared into the sphere, trying to summon a vision of Sarah. Although he stared at it hard, his desire outweighed his ability. He was still too weak to wield powers like those of his glory days as king of the goblins.

"You're going to have to do better than that, love." He murmured, sighing heavily.

" _I'm so sorry."_ Her grief-stricken words reached him the next moment.

His knees almost gave out, causing him to stumble over to the wall to keep himself upright. Something unexpected happened to him next; a sensation he'd felt few times in his entire existence. The best word he could think of to describe it was shock.

" _Sorry? She's sorry? After all she's done to me?!"_ He thought viciously.

His anger burned for a while, but it soon faded into sorrow. He staggered out onto the balcony, now overtaken by vines and weeds. Staring out onto the crumbling, deserted landscape of his kingdom, a single tear came to his eye.

"Oh Sarah. What have I done?" He whispered, all the terrible memories coming back to haunt him.

No one knew the true reason the Goblin King had lost his magic. He was heartbroken.

As part of his curse, he had to be loved or feared by at least one person to remain king and retain his powers. When Sarah defeated him, it turned everyone against him. Every single one of his subjects fled. The goblins abandoned him as well. They no longer feared him. For if a young girl could defeat their king, what did they have to fear? She'd brought hope to the kingdom, and in the process, took its king's away. It wasn't her fault. Jareth had brought himself to accept that much. She was only using the powers he had given her long ago, ones she had no idea she possessed. What he didn't count on was her will being as strong as his. His simple quest to challenge and rule her ultimately resulted in his destruction.

Jareth closed his eyes and exhaled. He felt his powers already beginning to wane, knowing what it meant. Although Sarah called on him, he didn't have enough strength to bring her back to the Underground. She remembered him, but memory alone was not enough to save him. Only one thing could do that, but he feared it to be impossible.

Sarah didn't love him. Perhaps her pleas meant she didn't hate him as he'd come to believe, but indifference was an even deadlier poison. He tried to make her love him all those years ago, but she rejected him. After she returned Aboveground with her brother, he spent weeks and months, day and night, trying to figure out what he'd done wrong. Only after agonizing over every possible explanation, did the one detail that he'd missed become clear. One night while examining his deteriorating appearance, the answer he sought stared back at him in the reflection. Him. He was what went wrong.

Before his defeat, he never realized that his solitude and desperation for another person's affection had turned him forceful, devious...and cruel. He tried to convince himself that he wasn't always that way, but he could hardly remember the time he wasn't. He vowed to change if he were only given the chance, but he knew it was too late.

No one feared him, and no one loved him. Sarah would never forgive him for what he'd done to her, and he didn't blame her. Soon he would become like his beloved Labyrinth: mistaken for nothing more than a vision from a dream, taken for granted.

"Forgive me, Sarah." He responded to her call, believing she would never hear him.

Attempting to return to his throne, his legs finally gave out halfway there. As Sarah's belief in him faded a million miles away, he collapsed to the unforgiving stone floor. Unable to move any further, he lie there where he fell and waited for the bitter end to come. He didn't know how long it would be, but he was used to waiting for death. He'd been dying inside for a thousand years.

* * *

 ***A/N: Poor Jareth! Oh my gosh, it just about broke my heart to write this. I hope you all liked it, you know, as much as you could. *muffled sobbing* On a side note, I know I'm ignoring the writer's creed of "Show, Don't Tell" with writing Jareth's experiences post-movie, but since he doesn't have anyone _to_ tell these things to yet, I'm breaking the rule in the name of telling the story clearly in favor of telling it "perfectly." Part Three is in the works, and with it I will be adding an OC label. Don't worry Jareth  & Sarah shippers, I'm not sinking your ship. Instead, I'm excited to announce that a certain Goblin King's father will be joining the story and will have an important appearance in the next part. ;)* **


	3. Part Three

**Dear precious readers, thank you for your patience. I won't take up any more time with explanations for my absence, save to say after many months of job hunting, I was hired and spent additional weeks adjusting my life to a new schedule, writing time included. Now I'm back to my late night writing that I have missed so much, and the result is this long awaited third chapter. Cozy up with some peaches and enjoy, Labyrinth fam.**

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 _"The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results"_ Sarah's father once chided about her not studying enough for her Math tests.

If she called out at night, if she called out in the day, or every hour on the hour, it didn't matter. There was no reply from Jareth. A entire week had passed and the silence had finally gotten to her. Tonight, calling out to nothingness for the thousandth time, she definitely felt insane.

"Jareth, why don't you answer me? Can't you hear me? I said I was sorry! I want to help you, darn it!" Sarah cried aloud as she paced around her apartment. She didn't care if the neighbors thought she was crazy or if everyone at work gossiped about her talking to "herself" in the parking lot. None of that mattered to her at this point. Desperation had swiftly turned her remorse into anger.

"If your dying, it's **your** fault, not mine! I'm trying to help you, but you won't let me! The Labyrinth is dying because of you! Everything is **your** fault!" She accused, yelling at the ceiling and holding back tears.

"Do not be so quick to judge him, girl." A deep voice scolded out of nowhere.

Sarah nearly jumped out of her skin, spinning around to see a tall figure dressed completely in black.

"He does not know what he has become. His mind is broken." They said.

"W-Who are you?" She stuttered in fear.

"Jareth's father. I am Jarek, King of Middleground." He responded, his voice strangely monotone.

"What do you want? Why have you come?" She questioned, stepping back.

"To warn you. You think you know Jareth, but in truth you know very little. He was not always the king of goblins, nor was he as selfish and wicked as he is now. A devilish trickster he has always been, but never cruel. He was a true king, and there was a time when he was adored by more people than you can possibly imagine." He told, his expression stern and his arms crossed.

"Well...what happened to him?" She inquired, not quite sure she believed what she heard.

"Tragedy. It can turn the greatest man into the cruelest monster." He began, standing up a little straighter, "Jareth was once the prince of Middleground. One day while visiting Aboveground, he fell in love with a human girl. After many visits to her world, he persuaded her to give up her mortal life and marry him. He soon became king of his own land, The Underground, and she was his queen. The years passed, and as Jareth built his kingdom, she was faithfully at his side, giving him all the companionship and love a king needs to be great. He was more in love than I'd ever seen a Fae."

"Where is she? Jareth never spoke of her." Sarah pointed out, her attention already fully captured by the story.

"When she carried his child, she became gravely ill. Jareth tried to heal her, but his powers were not strong enough. In his desperation, he sought out the help of a wizard who claimed to be a master in the practice of ancient magic pre-dating either kingdom. I warned Jareth that he was not to be trusted, but he would not risk losing his beloved queen. In exchange for a spell to heal her, the wizard demanded Jareth hand over his immortality and his kingdom. He agreed to the terms, and it cost him everything. The wizard betrayed him, taking queen's life...and the child with her." The old king's voice had begun to falter, forcing him to pause.

"That's awful." Sarah whispered, barely able to say the words.

Jarek stroked his short, gray beard as if to compose himself, then he spoke once more. "At her death, the powers he'd once bestowed to her returned to him, doubling his strength. In a fit a rage, he destroyed the wizard and half of the land with him. The Underground was in ruin, his enemies were defeated, and he was never the same. His grief consumed him, and it drove him to madness. Over the centuries, the loss of his wife and child fled from his memory, replaced by the fantasy that he was the king of goblins. In reality, they are his subjects that he turned into slaves with his new dark powers. He still believes that he must protect young children from those who would take them for granted, as he took for granted everything which was most precious to him."

Sarah stared at him disbelief, "That's why he takes children. Because he lost his own child."

"He built The Labyrinth for one purpose. To keep out all who would try to reach him and take back the children he steals away." He confirmed, but he was not yet finished, "With you, it was different. You reminded him of the queen."

Her eyes widened. "What?"

"For a thousand years, I have not interfered with Jareth's life, for it is his and his alone. However, I can bear it no longer. I will not watch my only son die. Not from something so curable as a broken heart."

"What do I have to do with all this?" Sarah asked, afraid of the answer she suspected she would receive.

"For Jareth's lifeforce to be restored, he must be feared or loved. I suspect the prior no longer applies to you, which leaves the former." He stated dryly.

"But I don't love him!" She exclaimed, a sting of shame following immediately after the words left her lips, "I can't..."

"If you do not, who will?" He countered, seeming surprised at her immediate rejection.

"I don't know. I'm sorry, but I'm not the one." She said as she lowered her head, unable to stand his scrutinizing gaze.

"Then it is the end for him. You are the only one with the power to save him...you always have been." He said, finality in his tone. "I offer you a choice, Sarah Williams. If you are convinced that Jareth's sins are unforgivable, and that you cannot see past them, you may forget every painful memory of The Underground with a single bite of this."

Sarah looked up to witness something materialize in his grip. It only took a heartbeat for her to recognize the object. A peach. She inched forward, cautiously taking it from his outstretched hand.

"I won't remember anyone, will I? Not Hoggle or Sir Didymus or Ludo." She asked, staring down at the deceptively innocent fruit.

"Nor Jareth." He added.

"What's my other choice?" She inquired, meeting his steely glare.

"If you find a change of heart, and you decide to give him a second chance, take this into your palm..." He instructed, holding up a crystal, "and look into it. It will show you. You will remember."

She took the crystal in her other hand, keeping in mind to take a mere glimpse. "Remember what?"

She received no answer, for when she looked up, he was gone.

Sarah stood still, glancing between the peach and the crystal. The initial temptation was to end it all with the peach. Her friends were disappearing regardless if she remembered or not, why live with the pain? Yet the mystery surrounding the crystal was almost too much to ignore. One look to remember, one bite to forget. The longer she thought about it, the more clouded her mind became with questions. Why was she the only one who could save Jareth? What would the crystal show her? Even if she could learn to love him, how could she ever forget the nightmare he put her through? Maybe he was truly good before, but that wasn't the Jareth she knew. The Jareth she knew was arrogant and unfeeling...and dying because of her.

Letting out a heavy sigh, she set both oracles down on her bed and walked across the room.

 _"Second chance."_ She thought, running her hands over her face. The words had stuck with her. Maybe it wasn't Jareth who needed the second chance. Perhaps it was her who needed to change. Nothing about this situation had been fair, but maybe she hadn't been either.

Sarah made her choice. "My will is as strong as yours." She said, fixing her eyes on the crystal. Picking it up, she lifted it up in front of her face.

The shrill ringing of the telephone nearly made her drop it the next instant. "Oh, not now!" She moaned as she went to answer it.

"Hello?" She said with a sigh.

"Sarah?" Her step-mother's shaky voice called.

Something was wrong. Every thought of The Underground and its inhabitants were gone in a blink.

"What happened? Are you okay?" She asked, dread hijacking her senses. The only answer was a muffled sob.

Then she realized what the sound in the background was.

"What's wrong?" Sarah begged, her heart racing "Why is Toby crying?"

"There was an accident...on the freeway...with a truck..." She replied through her tears. "Your father..."

The phone came off the hook. She fell to her knees. The crystal dropped out of her hand, rolling across the floor.

The world fell down.

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 **Two things you have my word on: this is as dark as the fic gets, and Jareth will return for good in the remaining chapters. Everything is about to get a thousand times better for Sarah _and_ Jareth. I know I've put them through a lot, but, "When we hit our lowest point, we are open to the greatest change." Now they've both hit that point, and the ch-ch-changes are next. ;) Parts Four and Five are coming _soon._ Check on my profile for updates. I own Jarek, all other characters/places are Jim Henson's. Thank you for reading. :) **


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